mediumfeature

The federal government has closed the book on what was once called the Canadian Wheat Board. Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz said Friday Ottawa has finalized the sale of the agency that marketed grain for western Canadian farmers since 1935 to G3 Global Grain Group, which is a joint venture of Bunge Canada and SALIC Canada Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Company (SALIC).

largefeature

With a federal election call likely to come this weekend, the silly season is now officially over. Summer is known in the journalism racket as the silly season, filled with fluffy stories about what’s good to eat at the fair, miraculous pet survival stories, pictures of giant misshapen vegetables from local gardens, and cross-country fundraising treks on bicycles, skateboards, rollerblades, etc.

The provincial government is looking for a company to keep an eye on its public-private partnership (P3) projects. It has two tenders out to find independent certifiers for the nine new joint-use schools across the province and the Saskatchewan Hospital North Battleford — Integrated Correctional Facility project.

As rumours swirl that the Conservative Party might call an election this weekend, the federal government coughed up more money for Regina projects on Friday. Tory MP Tom Lukiwski announced $617,600 in new funding, nearly evenly split between renovations to the North West Leisure Centre pool, the Saskatchewan Science Centre and the Wascana Centre Authority.

A man and a woman were transported to the Broadview Hospital with undetermined injuries after the motorcycle they were riding collided with a car on the Trans-Canada Highway at the intersection with Highway 9, near Whitewood, around 2:15 p.m. Friday. Initial investigation from Broadview RCMP revealed the motorcycle was traveling eastbound when the car, turning from Highway 9, drove into its path.

Western Canadian access to vital new commodities markets hinges on the federal government's willingness to stop giving dairy and poultry farmers special protection. With the U.S. pushing to conclude talks in Hawaii today, Canada needs to move quickly.

Saskatchewan should see 1,660 oil and gas wells drilled this year, less than half the wells forecast last fall, but 155 more than forecast in April, the Petroleum Services Association of Canada (PSAC) said in its latest forecast update released Thursday. While Saskatchewan and B.C. should do slightly better than PSAC’s April forecast, Alberta and Manitoba are expected to underperform, with significantly few wells drilled than forecast three months ago.

REGINA — The federal and provincial agriculture ministers have repeated their call for the outright repeal of U.S. Country of Origin Labelling (COOL) rules for beef and pork after two U.S. senators introduced a bill last week calling for voluntary labelling. “The U.S. has had more than enough time to do the right thing and fully repeal COOL for beef and pork,” Stewart said in a statement Thursday. “If COOL isn’t fully repealed for beef and pork, we will get to the point where retaliation is inevitable. While the costs for both Canada and the U.S. will be enormous, the U.S. must comply with their trade obligations.”

As outgoing U.S. consul general for Alberta, Saskatchewan and the N.W.T., Peter Kujawinksi is, er, diplomatic about the biggest source of friction between the two countries — the uncertain fate of the Keystone XL pipeline project. “I certainly understand ... that this has been an issue, to be diplomatic,’’ said Kujawinski, who’s finishing his three-year term at the end of the month.

If you ask Jesse Valenzuela, guitarist and vocalist of the Gin Blossoms, about normalcy on tour, he’ll tell you there’s no such thing. “There’s never an average day because things are always changing so quickly,” he quips.

With Prime Minister Stephen Harper choosing Russ Brown - a star conservative judge from Alberta who was fast tracked through the judiciary after a legal academic career at the University of Alberta - as his latest appointee to the Supreme Court, Saskatchewan was shut out again from being represented on the top court.

The Regina Police Service believes a 30-year-old man, subject of a Canada-wide warrant, is in the Regina area. Abdirisak Yusuf Ibrahim is described as having black skin, brown eyes, five-foot nine-inches tall and roughly 150 lbs. Police also believes he has short, black hair.

The impact of plunging oil prices is beginning to show up on consumers' credit card and loan statements, which could lead to a sharp rise in loan and credit card delinquencies in Alberta and Saskatchewan in the second half, according to study by TransUnion released Wednesday. In fact, delinquency rates could increase by as much as 60 per cent in oil-dependent

The northern village of Ile-a-la-Crosse will construct a Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) certified fish packing and processing facility thanks to a $950,000 investment from the federal government. Rob Clarke, MP for Desnethé — Missinippi — Churchill River, made the announcement Tuesday in Ile-a-la-Crosse on behalf of Michelle Rempel, minister of state for Western Economic Diversification.

Heading into the 1976 Progressive Conservative leadership convention, 325 delegates had promised to cast their ballots in favour of Kingston MP Flora MacDonald. MacDonald's team was optimistic that she could give her opponents - including eventual winner Joe Clark - a run for their money, which is why it was all the more disheartening when the results of the first ballot were announced. She had received just 214 votes.